Java Makefile Output Single Executable - java

How can I create a Makefile to compile my Java program with a single source file located in src/Hello.java to ouput a file that I can run with ./prog

(1) Take a look at http://ant.apache.org/ - that's a build tool suited to Java better than make. For example check out the javac command in ant.
(2) You have to run java programs by running the java virtual machine (java) and by telling it what to execute. There is no ./xxx way to run a program in java; that method executes scripts or executable programs, and a compiled java program is bytecode which is neither. What you need is to create a little shell script, call it "Hello", give it execute permissions with chmod, its contents should be something like:
#!/bin/bash
java -cp . Hello

Make is not a great tool for building Java programs, primarily because its core design is to identify out-of-date sources (either source or object files) and apply transforms to them. The Java compiler handles this dependency checking already, and defining a Make rule for Java compilation is more trouble than it's worth.
Adrian Smith has already suggested Ant. I'm going to suggest Maven as an alternative.
My main reason for this suggestion is that it's very easy to get a simple project going in Maven: you can tell Maven to create the entire directory structure, and then it just works. And although you may not like the directory structure that Maven creates, there's a benefit to the consistency if you're working in a large project. Maven does have its limitations, and some of them are extremely painful, but you generally won't run into them until you have the knowledge to work around them.
As for running a Java program, you need to invoke the JVM somewhere along the line. A shell script is one approach, but generally it's easier just to invoke the JVM directly. If you create an "executable JAR" (which Maven will do for you, including options to include all dependencies), you can invoke it like this:
java -jar executable.jar

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Looking for Makefile and Build System solutions for Java

I am trying to veer away from writing most of my Java code in Eclipse and I'm coming up with small projects for myself to work on in order to a. become a better Java programmer and b. learn how to organize my applications (in both terms of code and directory structure).
I noticed that I make plenty of small, incremental changes to classes then to recompile and run my whole application. I'm slightly familiar with Makefiles from a course I took in C++, and I'm less familiar with Build Systems (Maven, Ant). Regarding this mater, here are a few things I'd appreciate help with:
First of all, is there a way that I can write a little file that separates where my .class files are saved during javac *.java?
Say I want to put all my .class files in a /bin folder
In that file, is there a command I can write to simplify the javac *.java and java [class name here...] process?
I know that this process is relatively simple already, but what I want to know is can I write something that will allow me to run commands along the lines of myExec build (compile and save all my java files) myExec run (run my application)
Finally, is there a simple Build System that I can/should learn to use that will allow me to accomplish this? Or am I confusing the point of a Build System.
Look at Maven or Gradle, it automatically separates the source file and class files.
Manual build script writing is waist of time really.

Converting dll to jar

I'm trying to find a way to convert a dll to a jar file. I have a .net application that communicates with a java application. The core entities are .net objects which I have to duplicate manually in java.
I've read about IKVM but it seems that it converts only jars to dlls and not the other way around.
Edit: If there is a tool that creates java classes from a dll it is also fine.
Thanks in advance
There isn't such a tool.
A dll is a natively compiled library. That means its been compiled down to machine code. Probably compiled by a C/C++/C# compiler.
A jar file is a zip file that contains '.class' files, which are files compiled down to 'java virtual machine code'. Probably compiled by a java/clojure/scala compiler.
These are two very different incompatible things.
It's not impossible to create such a tool that would do this translation, but it would definitely be an extremely difficult task, as it would entail translating from one machine code, to another, and would need to manage multiple issues like dependency solving, different type structure etc.
HOWEVER, I'm imagining that you want to do this because you want to use a DLL within some java code. That is somewhat possible, but is actually quite complicated. You'll need to use the JNI.
Take a look at this question as it might help you achieve what you want to do:
Calling C++ dll from Java
This is actually an easy task to perform. Converting .dll to .jar is as simple as using com4j and a couple of commands on the command line.
Download com4j.
Open command line and navigate to com4j directory in above step.
Execute below command.
java -jar tlbimp.jar -o outputFolder -p nameOfPackage "pathToFile"
Then jar the results with the following:
jar cf desiredJarName.jar folderYouWantJard

Imports, jars, and heart Ache

first off let me start by saying I am completely new to Java, but to give you an idea of how new; I started reading lots of books, examples and so forth and began programming Java using Eclipse about 2 months ago. However, I found a really cool bit of advise about using notepad and the terminal to program instead. Kinda crazy for a newbie to go the hard route, but I love a challenge and I'm serious about learning.
So, In Eclipse I had a really good grasp of how to import, add jars compile etc. When I started using pico and using the terminal (I'm running ubuntu) to compile all went really well, until I wanted to use packages. I've spent two days pulling my hair out because no matter what I do I can't figure it out.
I'm trying to use the acm.jar (which I have many times in Eclipse) however I'm completely lost on how to use it when compiling from the javac in terminal.
So what I'm asking for, is for someone to explain the process getting my jar file to work.
All I'm using to create my java programs is the pico (or notepad) and the javac in the terminal.
To compile and run a java class using external libraries, you have to add that library to the classpath. The classpath is the set of places where the java compiler and the JVM look to find any external libraries/classes that it needs during the process of compiling/executing.
Setting the classpath can be done in 2 ways:
Set an environment variable called CLASSPATH
Set it when your run javac/java
Setting the classpath when running javac/java is done like this:
javac -cp path/to/jar1:path/to/jar2:path/to/jar3:path/to/dirContainingClasses
yourMainClass.java
To run:
java -cp path/to/jar1:path/to/jar2:path/to/jar3:path/to/dirContainingClasses
yourMainClass
: is used as a separator on Linux, for windows use ;
Assuming your source files are in src. Assuming you want your compiled classes to be in classes. Assuming your source files reference classes that are in lib/acm.jar:
javac -cp classes:lib/acm.jar -d classes src/com/foo/bar/MyClass.java
will compile the class com.foo.bar.MyClass and put the generated MyClass.class file in classes/com/foo/bar.
You need the acm.jar file in the classpath. That's what the -cp lib/acm.jar option does. You also need classes in the classpath, because MyClass probably references other classes that you have already compiled and that are in your classes directory.
To run your class, it has to be in the classpath, and acm.jar as well:
java -cp classes:lib/acm.jar com.foo.bar.MyClass
As you see, the classpath contains jar files, and directories containing the folder hierarchy which matches the package hierarchy.
I wouldn't use javac from the command line directly, though. Try using a real build tool, that will build all your classes at once, like Gradle or Ant. Maven is also very popular, but I hate it with passion.

Alternative to Eclipse's Abstract Syntax Tree parser for code manipulation

Background
I am writing a program that will do some bulk renaming of members and functions in a directory of java source code to de-obfuscate the code based on a look-up table .csv file passed in to the program.
What this is for is the source code I have was written against a obfuscated jar. I have a de-obfuscated version of the jar that was run through a customized version RetroGaurd and I would like to parse the mapping file that was passed in to RetroGaurd to de-obfuscate the function calls my source code makes in to the jar. If I just compile my code and run it through RetroGaurd too when I decompile I loose all of my nice commenting and formatting (unless there is a option on RetroGaurd that I missed).
Problem
I found the Abstract Syntax Tree parser built in to Eclipse and it looks perfect for my uses, however I am not planning on writing my program as a plugin for Eclipse, this is going to be a stand alone jar that can be run on any machine.
My main concern is as I write my code I am getting a lot of dependencies on internal jars that Eclipse uses. I know that if I conform to the EPL for the library jars I will have no issues distributing it, but I am concerned about this project getting bigger and bigger as I write it as more and more jars from Eclipse's SDK are required.
Are there any other projects out there that would give me the ability to parse Java source code to do find and replace reliably like AST will allow me to, or is there a way to use RetroGaurd (or a program like it) to run the same de-obfuscation but keep my comments and functions the same without needing to run the de-obfuscated program though a de-compiler afterwards?
If you're worried about the need to run Eclipse GUI to execute your code, then you could consider running the plugin in headless mode. This would allow your plugin to be run from command line. See this SO thread.
You could also use any other open source java compiler. For e.g., openjdk's Java compiler. Please refer to the Resources section.
Hope it helps.

Running a script on the Java source files before compiling into bytecode, possible with Eclipse?

Hi all I was wondering how do we set Eclipse to run a script on the Java source files for the project before compiling it into bytecode?
If anyone was wondering why I would like to do it, I was looking for a permanent solution to this problem, but of course more things could be accomplished with the functionality to run scripts before compilation.
In Eclipse you can define custom builders for your files. For this open the project properties and go to the "builders" page. Here you can add an arbitrary program that is launched every time a file in your workspace changes. You have many possibilities to customize the build progress. Move your newly created builder on top of the builders list to have it executed before the Java builder.
You can also define a custom ant task.
My suggestion is use ant to iterate over your set of files, calling exec to run your script.
This question is similar to what you want to do.
You can use Apache Ant for building you program. Then run a script with Ant before starting to compile the sources.

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